


Killing the Sun

by imaginethat_peepshow



Category: Bleach
Genre: Explicit Sexual Content, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-08
Updated: 2018-12-07
Packaged: 2019-09-13 22:52:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16901334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imaginethat_peepshow/pseuds/imaginethat_peepshow
Summary: Starrk finds a precious ally in Soledad during his early days in Las Noches. However, his immense presence wears on her, albeit slower than on weak Hollows in the wild. So by the time they realize what's happening, it may be too late.





	Killing the Sun

Soledad Toltenbrecht was the Octava Espada when Starrk came to Las Noches. 

 She was the first to approach Starrk in any capacity other than to posture. Rank was such an engrained part of life in Las Noches that its residents felt the need to prove their might to any newcomers. With so many powerful beings in one place, such tensions were only natural. Or so he assumed. He no point of reference. Soledad was patient with Lilynette as she bombarded her with questions. She shared her astute observations about their comrades, but revealed little about herself. That, Starrk had to observe for himself. 

 Her skin was gray like a raining sky. She had dark hair that hung in long waves, and murky blue eyes set deep in her skull. The shadow cast by her fractured mask only made it worse. The bony brow covered much of her forehead and temples. While she hid it under high collared shirts, he discerned the location of the Hollow in her chest, a little higher than his. Sometimes when she was thinking, she’d play with the edges as if stroking her collarbone. 

 She was quiet and thoughtful, and fearless in her own way. She never flinched at the shouting or fighting that often echoed in the halls of the white palace. Aizen had found her alone in the mountains somewhere, and her rooms were high in a tower with large windows. Even so she didn’t hide away from her cohorts any more than they hid away from each other. She enjoyed time alone, though, and silence and soft wind and stormy nights. 

 It was her ability to sit in companionable silence that drew him to her. If ever he needed to escape the noise of the Espada or Lilynette’s nagging, it was always quiet in her solarium. As much as he cherished having others around, it was a long and slow adjustment. Sometimes he just needed the quiet. She didn’t require explanations or special attentions, she simply facilitated his being himself. She understood loneliness, and anxiety, and the soul-tired feeling of living too long in despair. 

 It didn’t take long for him to notice the change in her. If he spent too much time near her, the sickly look about her would worsen. Her sunken eyes would recede deeper into her face, her cheeks would hollow, and her easy smiles would become tainted with hidden pain and heaviness. He’d seen it countless times before, the way Hollows would fade away in the presence of one too powerful for their spiritual pressure. 

 “You’ve been avoiding me again.” Soledad said. It wasn’t a question or a demand for explanation. She just wanted him to know she noticed. Starrk stretched out on the warm stone of her solarium floor and didn’t answer. Downstairs, everyone was in an uproar, posturing for a new Arrancar brought in by Aizen. “What do you think of the newcomer?” She asked, laying down nearby. 

 “He’s loud.” Starrk said. “Arrogant and crude.” 

 “There is something wild about his spiritual pressure, isn’t there?” She mused. “He’ll unseat me for sure.” 

 “Noveno suits you fine.” He offered. 

 “Maybe.” She sighed. “I’ve missed you, you know?” The question caught him off guard. 

 “What are you talking about?” He rolled to his side to see her, maybe five feet away, but there was little he could read on her shadowed face. 

 “There’s no feeling so terrible as being alone in a crowded room… and no irony so cruel as feeling lonesome for the Espada of lonely death.” She stared up at the latticed roof and through it to the sky beyond.

 “I’m sorry.” He said after some time. “I… I missed you too.” She rolled to her side as well, and then to her stomach. They reached across the floor, barely touching each others’ fingertips. She smiled, but he could see the painful weight behind it. 

 “Ever since you came here, I’ve felt more alone than ever before.” Her eyes met his at last. “But at the same time, I felt as if some awful gap was filled.” Her free hand fingered the line of the Hollow beneath her bodice. 

 “Soledad… I can’t give you what you’re looking for.” He grimaced painfully. “We can’t.” 

 “Why?” Her voice was calm, but her eyes were tearful. 

 “You’ll fade.” He said firmly. How could she not see it? 

 “Hn.” She laughed softly. “I’m already fading. Even before you came here I was barely a thought of a whisper of an Espada… It was only a matter of time before Harribel or Barragan’s spiritual pressure erased me from this world. Now with Aizen bringing more strong young Arrancar all the time… well, we both know there’s no such thing as a Decimo Espada.” 

 “Soledad…” He searched for more words but they wouldn’t come. 

 “Did you ever figure out what aspect of death I’m meant to represent?” She asked. He could only shake his head. “… Wasting. I fear it’s my destiny to dissolve into nothingness no matter how alone I am… or am not.” 

Starrk felt like he was choking, suffocating. This was part of having comrades he had not considered. While being surrounded by others could chase away loneliness, inevitably that attachment would lead to loss and grief. He entwined her fingers tightly in his. 

 “I’m afraid you mean to inflict me with a more sinister kind of loneliness than even I have endured.” He could only imagine how much worse the pain of losing her would be if he dared to love her. 

 “Or maybe I mean to cleanse it from your soul forever.” She crept closer, pressing her lips gently to his fingers. Little sizzling branches of electricity flew through his skin. They brought alive the sleeping desire he was only barely conscious of before. Consequences faded from his mind. All he could think of was her, and the intoxicating prospect of killing his loneliness together on that solarium floor. 

 Closing the gap between them, he locked his arms around her small frame. She clutched at his shirt, pulling him into a dizzying kiss. Her lips were soft, light as if they would disappear if he pressed to hard. Every touch was fire on his skin, in his bones. He rolled to his back, pulling her on top of him. The curtain of her hair fell around his face. His hands traveled her back, her sides, her hips. Her legs spread around his hips, her skirt riding up to bare her thighs. She put her weight into her pelvis, grinding against him. It set his teeth on edge and left his hands grasping at her flesh. Their kisses grew more urgent. His hands raked up her body to her breasts, kneading them through the thin fabric of her dress. Her hands ran from his chest, down his arms, to his wrists. Sitting up straight, she tossed her head back and redoubled the heavy movements of her hips. 

Shallow, ragged breathing filled the solarium. Soledad guided one of Starrk’s hands down her body to the space between them. He reached under her skirt to find her entrance hot and ready. He slipped two fingers around her underwear and worked them inside. She shuddered, bucking into his hand. His mouth went dry. 

 “I can’t.” He panted. “I can’t anymore. I need you.” 

 “I’m yours.” She said, untangling herself just enough to remove her underwear and open his pants. Her hand closed around his freed member, gently twisting the head between her fingers while she climbed back on. 

 “Do it.” He urged. She lined him up to her entrance, and sank her weight into him once again. Her tight walls sent sparks through his whole body. With her hands on his chest, just aside of his Hollow, she rode him. Soft, quiet moans accompanied the muffled thuds of their bodies coming together. The hard floor at his back allowed nothing to disperse; he felt every bit of her body reining down on him. He clutched her hips, tugging her back onto him every time she lifted away. Nothing could be closer than this, breathing heavy in time while he literally filled her up. 

 Her moans turned gradually to whimpers while his turned to growls. It was growing ever tighter in the space they shared inside her, though not as tight as the knot at his core. His muscles seized one by one. First his neck contracted to lift his shoulders off the floor. Then his legs went stiff down to his toes. He long since lost control of his arms, which clung so tight to her surging hips he feared he’d never let go. Finally his core tensed and coiled until he could barely breathe. 

 “Starrk…” She cried, her voice strangled with pleasure. “I’m gonna…” Her walls cinched in and throbbed all along his length. There was a final agonizing pull at his muscles before everything came unwound. He erupted inside her, but her rolling hips wouldn’t be still. She came down on him again and again, forcing unexpected waves of pleasure he hoped would never end. 

 When they were finally still, Stark could barely move for his hypersensitive skin. Soledad collapsed on the floor beside him. With their heads resting together, and their fingers intertwined, they dozed off under the shining sun.


End file.
